When the Boss is Away
by elsiecarson
Summary: When Elizabeth and Nick and the girls are camping what do Chessy and Martin get up to?
1. Making a Picnic

Chessy and Martin stand at the kitchen counter preparing sandwiches in Nick Parker's kitchen. Nick and his daughters, Hallie and Annie, and his fiancée, Meredith Blake, are all off camping. Chessy gasps when she and Martin's hands touch over the lettuce.

Martin holds onto Chessy's hand as he turns towards her. He slowly leans over and kisses her cheek before kissing her on the lips. "That was fabulous Martin! I've been waiting for you to do that since we met in San Francisco!" Chessy gushes.

"Let's go and spend the rest of the day somewhere fabulous. I just want to get to know you better. I want to spend some time just the two of us without any interruptions. Shall we take some fruit with us?" Martin asks as he pokes his head into the fridge.

"Grab the strawberries and the cantaloupe and we'll take those with us." Chessy says as she smiles over her shoulder.

Martin grabs a large knife, cuts the cantaloupe in half, and then scoops all the seeds out of each half. He cuts each half into slices and cuts the peel off each slice and puts them all on a plate. "Where's the plastic wrap?"

"The plastic wrap is in the bottom drawer to the left of the stove. Are we ready to go?" Chessy asks as she puts all the sandwiches in the picnic basket and then walks over to the wine rack and picks out a bottle of white wine.

Martin wraps the plastic wrap over the cantaloupe slices and then puts the box of strawberries and the cantaloupe in the basket. "I think that we're ready to go." Martin says with a smile.

"Wait, we need the potato salad and the rest of the chocolate cheesecake and then we can go." Chessy says as she goes to the fridge and pulls out the potato salad and the cheesecake and adds them to the basket. "Now we can go!"


	2. Where are We Going?

"Where are we going on our picnic?" Martin asks as he picks up the basket and he and Chessy walk out to her Jeep.

"Well, there's a couple of places we can go. There's a park nearby, or we can go to the beach, or there's a couple of places on the vineyard we could go." Chessy says as she hops into the jeep.

Martin's eyes sparkle when Chessy mentions the beach being a possibility for the picnic. "Oh Chessy! Can we go to the beach? I've always wanted to spend some time on a California beach." Martin says as he hops into the passenger seat.

"Sure, we can go to the beach. Is there any music you like in particular?" Chessy asks as she leans towards the radio dials.

"I'm not picky, but I am partial to rock n' roll." Martin says as he watches the scenery flash past.

"Martin, I would never have guessed! You are a dark horse. Rock n' roll doesn't seem your style. Classical perhaps, but not rock n' roll." Chessy says with a chuckle.

"I happen to like classic rock. Do I not seem very rock n' roll, Chessy? I am almost offended, but I happen to know that I don't look very rock n' roll." Martin says as he watches Chessy press a button and crank up the volume.

"No, Martin, you don't seem like you're very rock n' roll, especially since you're a butler, but I've learned not to judge a book by its cover." Chessy says as she teases Martin.

"True enough. Butlers and rock stars don't usually run in the same crowd. But you don't seem much like a rock n' roll fan either when it comes down to it." Martin teases Chessy right back.

"I have very varied musical tastes. I like everything from classical to modern pop. I'm not picky about music at all." Chessy says as she pulls into the parking lot at a beach.


	3. It Isn't Fair!

Martin stands up in the jeep and looks out at the turquoise ocean before him. "This is beautiful. I've never seen an ocean this blue before." Martin says as he hops out of the jeep and grabs the picnic basket and the beach blanket.

"Could you imagine staying in California permanently if something happens between Nick and Liz?" Chessy asks as she too hops out of her jeep. She's wearing turquoise flip flops, denim capris, and a cute v-neck turquoise t-shirt that shows a little cleavage. The sun is warm as Martin spreads the blanket out on the beach. Chessy sits demurely on the blanket and pulls out the main course for lunch including the potato salad. She unwraps the sandwiches and places them on the blanket. Martin sets up the beach umbrella that Chessy brought with her. chessy pours each of them a cold glass of white wine. Martin takes a plate and a fork out of the lid of the picnic basket.

"I could live here easily, but Mr Parker has a fiancée, so I don't really see madam and he getting back together. I like Napa very much though." Martin puts a sandwich on his plate along with a large scoop of potato salad.

"Well, if I know the girls, and I think I do, Meredith won't be sticking around very long. Hallie and Annie don't like her at all. Liz and Nick are destined to be together whether they know it yet or not. They're both stubborn." Chessy settles on the blanket next to Martin.

"I don't want the girls to be in trouble if they break up their dad's new relationship. I can't believe that Nick and madam are going to get back together, but I hope they do because then we can stay together." Martin sips his wine as he looks out at the ocean.

"That's so sweet! I want you to be able to stay Martin, but Liz will never stay if Nick gets remarried. You're loyal to Liz, so if she leaves so would you. I've always liked Liz, but Nick pushed too hard with her all the time. I just hope this doesn't affect to girls too much." Chessy sighs.

"Me too. I haven't known Hallie very long, but she's become as dear to me as Annie is. Those girls are so special and I would do anything for them. I just hope that now that the girls know about each other they won't be separated again." Martin sounds melancholy.

"I don't think Liz and Nick will be that cruel to the girls. I'm just sad that Liz and Nick's separation will mean that we will have to be apart. I like you very much, Martin." Chessy admits.

"I like you very much too, Chessy. I've never felt this way before so quickly. This is very special to me." Martin whispers as he watches Chessy sip her wine.

"It's not fair! I wish it didn't have to be like this. We deserve better." Chessy hops up from the blanket and walks down to the ocean's edge. She's trying to contain her emotions.

Martin jumps up and runs after Chessy. His bare feet touch warm sand for the first time. "Hey Chessy," Martin catches up with her. "It's alright. We'll figure this out if we need to. Don't be emotional now. We just have to enjoy the time we have together no matter how long that may be."

"But Martin, if we do this, won't it be more painful when you have to leave? Do we want to break each others' hearts when we have to part? You already mean so much to me, Martin, and I don't want to lose you, but I can't imagine losing you without knowing you better." Chessy's eyes fill with tears.

Martin puts his arms around Chessy from behind. He looks out on the ocean sparkling in the sunshine. He sighs heavily as he thinks about having to leave Chessy. "It might be more painful, but we'll have fewer regrets. You mean a great deal to me too, Chessy, and I want to spend as much time as possible with you. I don't want to regret anything we decide not to do."

Chessy turns in Martin's arms. She kisses Martin gently and relaxes into his hold. Martin relaxes into the kiss and enjoys it. It's been a long time since he was in a relationship. He always considered his job to be the only thing he needed, but standing on this beach being kissed like this, suddenly the job doesn't seem quite as important any more. Normally Martin doesn't like public displays of affection, but right now he doesn't care at all and besides there's no one else on the beach and even if there was he wouldn't care right now.


End file.
